Profit Falls at May Department Stores

May Department Stores (MAY Quote) said first-quarter earnings fell from a year ago, and were hurt by weak sales of its proprietary ladies' and men's apparel brands and incremental markdowns.

The company, which is merging with Federated Department Stores (FD Quote), earned 13 cents a share for the quarter ended April 30, compared with 24 cents a share in the same period a year ago. First-quarter 2005 earnings include store divestiture costs of 2 cents a share. Excluding these costs, May earned 15 cents. The quarter also includes the benefit of a $14 million, or 5-cents-a-share income tax provision reduction.

Analysts polled by Thomson First Call expected May to earn 16 cents a share in the first quarter. Net sales for the first quarter were $3.37 billion, an increase of 13.7% from $2.96 billion last year. Same-store sales decreased 5.1% for the quarter.

"Our 2005 first-quarter results did not meet our expectations," John Dunham, May's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a press release.

May recorded costs of about $4 million, or 1 cent a share, related to the Federated merger in the first quarter.